1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a device combining a slim CD-ROM drive and a flash memory card drive, which utilizes the unused space in a slim CD-ROM drive to mount a flash memory card socket to form a combined device.
2. Description of the Background Art
A flash memory card is a memory card involving one or more silicon chips, and it is often referred as a portable memory card. Because flash memory cards are small, power saving, large in volume, shock resistant, and rewritable, they have been widely used in Information Appliances (IAs) and various portable digital products, such as PDAs, DSCs, MP3 Players, etc.
Moreover, due to the shortcomings of diskettes or CDs in size, vibration resistance, shock resistance, and power consumption, flash memory cards are not only used in IAs (most are used to record digital audio/video) but also in consumer electronic appliances, and has become a main stream in the digital storage market.
However, said flash memory products have to utilize the interfaces in portable digital electronic products to connect to PCs or an additional flash memory card drive. Compared to the CD-ROM drive, flash memory products may consume more investment of a customer, which impairs the acceptance of those products in the market.
Of cause, a flash memory card drive may be installed as standard peripheral equipment on a PC. However, the overall cost of the PC will surely be higher. And more space in the PC will be occupied. How to integrate a flash memory card drive on a CD-ROM drive to form a combined device has become the main consideration of the inventor.
3. Traditional Technologies
As shown in FIG. 1, a legacy slim CD-ROM drive comprises of:                a seat 1, which has a containing space 2 hosting a circuit board 3 and a driving unit 4 and a fixing plate 5 on each side of the seat to help fixing the seat on the case (not shown);        a CD tray 6 on the seat 1 to hold a CD, the CD tray has a rotating shaft 97 and a read/write head, which is driven by a driving unit 4 to slide along the seat 1, the read/write head is connected to the circuit board 3.        
When the operator controls the CD tray 6 sliding out of the seat 1, a CD can be put on the CD tray 6. After the CD tray 6 slides into the seat 1, it is driven by the rotating shaft 7 to rotate, and the read/write head moves to access the CD.
It should be noted that the sizes of the seat 1 and the CD tray 6 must be big enough to hold the CD. Though the circuit board 3 and the driving unit 4 are located in the containing space 2, the width of the containing space is usually smaller than that of the seat 1. Thus the fixing plate 5 extends from the containing space 2 to the edge of the seat 1 to fix the case (not shown) of the drive. And there is a spare space 9 under the fixing plate 5. If that space is utilized to contain a flash memory card socket, the CD-ROM drive can also serve as a flash memory drive.